The Man behind the Curtain
by Balko94
Summary: Sometimes it needs a little help to confess the truth.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or the The Mentalist. And I hope You will enjoy this little story. And sorry for my rotten english I'm from Germany.**

Richard Castle sat in his bar "The Old Haunt" and drunk a bear when a uncharted man entered the bar. Immediately this man went to the place next to Castle and began to copy every single action of him. After a short while Castle had gotten annoyed enough to ask the man what he was doing here: "Why you imitate me?"

The man, who was not really tall but also not really little, had blond hair and wore a blue suite with white shirt and blue vest, smiled at him. "I study you." he raised his hand and ordered a malt beer.

"Why are you studying me?" Castles interest were awake now and this seems to make the man happy.

"Because I want you to do something what you wouldn't do in eternity."

"What do you want from me?" Castles became angry and afraid of this man.

"Look into my eyes." the strange man fixed his look directly on Castle's eyes. Castle tried to escape his look but he failed. "Now give me your right and an raise your left one." Castle refused to give the man his hand, wherefore he grasped Castle's hand. "Raise your left hand." said the man with emphasis and without thinking about it Castle did it. The man hold his other hand under Castle's right hand and began to speak: "Listen exactly to what I say."

* * *

Two hours later: Castle entered the 12th precinct with flowers in his hand. He didn't realized that Ryan and Esposito smirked at him. It was highly visible that they knew what went of there. Behind Castle the man out "The Old Haunt" walked into the precinct and went directly to Ryan and Esposito while Castle went to Beckett's desk. Beckett stand on her desk, Josh by her side. "Castle what are you doing here and for whom are these flowers?" Beckett seemed really surprised about Castle's present and that absolutely in a positive way, something that didn't sidestepped Josh.

"These flowers are for you Kate." Castle raised himself to his whole high and began to speak with the heart melting voice which he could created: "I know that everything that I will say now could destroy everything what we already have with each other. With that I mean our friendship and working relationship, but I can't take it any more. Kate I love you. You are not wonderful you are more you are extraordinary, you are adorable, clever, intelligent, caring and you never really give up. I really love you Kate for all of this even for your mule, for that you are a control freak, for that you bossing me and the others here around all the time. Damned it, Kate you are the love of my life and I know that I don't deserve you, you are too good for me. But please Kate, give me a chance to proof you that I can be a good boyfriend for you, maybe not the best but a good one. I love you so much that I can't really find the right words for my feelings about you. You are on my mind every time and I don't want this to end in any time in the future. I know that I am sometimes childish and it sometimes seems that I can't take anything serious but I think I proof to you and any other one here that this is not true. I know that I annoy you very often but I hope I have shown you that this isn't my intention. Why aren't you interrupting me Kate? Why are you ..." Castle couldn't continue his speech because all of a sudden he felt Kate's lips on his ones and her hands around his neck. After the first short shock Castle responded the kiss and with that he fall completely out of his half-hypnoses in which the man had hock him in. The fall apart when the whole precinct began to applaud about Castle's confession and Kate's respond to it. The only one who wasn't happy about this was Josh.

Josh's mouth was open but he wasn't able to speak. The confession of Castle had thrown him, like everybody else in the precinct off guard, but the respond of his own girlfriend had broken him his heart. Kate Beckett, his girlfriend, the woman he loved, had kissed another man right in front of him without think about it. And now after this kiss? They both shared a few confused and awkward looks but they were filled with passion. As Josh had gotten the ability to speak back his already broken heart was shattered into pieces: "Rick, I love you too." Josh could feel the tears in his eyes and then he saw the happy smiles on the faces of Castle and Kate. That was enough for him. Josh became angry, angry at Castle, angry about the world, even about Kate.

While the other officers came to the new, how it seemed couple, Josh couldn't control him any more. He grasped Castle on his shoulder and punched him his fist directly into the face. Castle fall back into Kate's chair. Kate made a jump to her partner and maybe future boyfriend, with an angry look an her face, for Josh. Some of the cops in the precinct had their hands on their guns. Castle was maybe not a real cop but for them he was a part of the family, and in the cop-family one member always protected another member. "Kate, please think about this." Josh wanted to change the mind of his obviously ex-girlfriend.

"About what Josh? Tell me, about what I should think about in you opinion?" Kate was angry. She helped Castle to get up again. She looked worried to him and Castle responded with a smile.

"Kate I love you, more than my job and you know what my job means to me. Please don't leave me for that stupid writer." Josh yelled at her. His voice sounded imploring and Kate knew that Josh loved her and she loved him too, but her feelings for Castle were always stronger. The only reason why she was together with Josh was that he was her safety net because she wasn't sure about Castle's feelings. Now after she knew how Castle felt she no longer needed a safety net.

Kate headed forward to Josh. They stood face to face and Josh's look nearly melted Kate's heart like it did several times before but this time his look failed. "I love you too Josh", he began to smile, "But I love also Rick and it's hard for me to make a decision between you two. And in bottom line you pale in comparison to him." Kate turned around to Castle. The glance they shared now with each other was so full of love that everybody in the room could nearly feel it. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah I think so." Castle answered and smiled. "I have a question for you Kate?"

"You can ask me anything." Kate returned the smile. This whole charade was too much for Josh, so he turned his back on the duo and went to the elevator.

"Kate, do you wanna be my girlfriend?" Castle's glance changed from happy to imploring and serious.

Kate's smile on the other hand became bigger by this question. "Yeah I want. And believe me, there is nothing in the world which I want more." Castle began to respond the smile and they kissed again. This leaded to smiles on faces on every single face of the cops, while Josh stood heart broken in the elevator, with tears in his eyes.

Ryan prodded the stranger man with his arm. "Thank you for your help Mr. Jane." He gave him his hand. Patrick Jane, the stranger, grasped Ryan's hand, shook it, grasped then Esposito's hand and shook it too. After he said goodbye he left the building, smiling. It was the first time after a long hiatus where he brought two people who was fallen in love with each other but were to afraid to admit it. Since he had began to work for the CBI he barely had to deal with something like that. But when his colleague and friend Wayne Rigsby asked him to help to friends who worked for the NYPD and Ryan and Esposito had explained the situation to him, Patrick had known that he had to something for them, which means Castle and Beckett. Now his job was done and he could fly home to Sacramento.

After nearly a half hour of congratulations and hand shaking Rick and Kate decided to left the precinct and went out for diner. "Where would you like to go?"

"I don't know Rick. Maybe one of us could cook for the other." suggested Kate with a smile.

"It would be a honour for me to cook for you." said Rick and leaded her to the elevator. "By the way, I must tell you something. During my little speech earlier I wasn't really myself."

Kate's breath caught. "What do you mean with that?"

"I was in a half-hypnoses. I couldn't really control what I did although I knew what I did. This man who stood besides Ryan and Esposito, he hypnotized me and gave me with that the courage to do something I should have done a long time ago. To tell you how I feel." He smiled and she began to smile again, which leaded to another kiss. When they left the building and went toward their cards, their ways divided from each other and Rick poked his hand into his pocket, where he felt he little box with the ring he had brought just an hour ago. He smiled. He knew that it wasn't the right time now to propose to her, but after today he knew that the right time would come maybe sooner than later.


End file.
